Franklin County (Arkansas) Veterans Service Office

What it is. An Arkansas county veterans service officer is employed by the county judge and paid from the Quorum Court's budget, trained and accredited through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and partly reimbursed by the State under section 20-81-106: one dollar for every two the county spends, up to $3,600 a year, or $4,800 in a county with more than 2,500 veterans, plus $500 a quarter each for VA accreditation and for access to VA's benefits system; see the Arkansas entry on the Department and county service officers. Help with a claim is free. Franklin County's Veteran Services page: "The main function of the County Veterans Service Office is to advise and council with the claimant in the assistance of the preparation of forms and securing the necessary supporting evidence to complete such forms", for pension, compensation, education, health care, burial in national cemeteries and headstones, "without charge and without regard to affiliation or membership in any group or organization." Who and when. The page, edited October 22, 2026, names Tommy Hughes as Franklin County Veterans Service Officer at 211 W. Commercial St, Ozark; 479-667-4677, [email protected]; 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, except holidays, and at the Charleston courthouse by appointment only. The Department of Veterans Affairs' county finder (last updated August 19, 2026) lists no officer, phone or hours for Franklin, so the appointment is newer than the State's list; the page's paragraph on the Department still names two officers of an earlier time. Franklin is in the Department's District 2, whose District Veterans Service Officer is Edward Skelton in the Fort Smith courthouse, (479) 387-6610. The County Judge, Rickey Bowman, is at the same address, 479-667-4726. The Quorum Court. The Court meets on the second Thursday of each month; the site posts its 2026 meeting schedule but no minutes, ordinances or budget, so the office's appropriation is not published.